Ian Parry Scholarship 2015: entries invited (Canon UK sponsored)

If you are a photographer under the age of 24 or in full-time photographic education, or have just graduated, you have until Tuesday 14 July 2015 to apply online for this year’s Ian Parry Scholarship. A £3,500 prize plus incredible career opportunities await you…

Photojournalist Ian Parry died, aged 24, while on assignment for The Sunday Times during the Romanian revolution in 1989. Aidan Sullivan, The Sunday Times’ picture editor at the time plus Ian’s friends and family, established the Scholarship to honour his memory and help young emerging photojournalists.

Says last year’s winner, Alejandro Cegarra from Venezuela: “Three years ago when I started my photography career in a Venezuelan newspaper, I never thought that I would be where I am today and I wouldn’t be where I am without the scholarship. It has been a unique opportunity in every way.”

“The Scholarship put my work on the map: assignments, editors, you meet photographers who you admire, and that makes you grow. It is like finally opening your eyes.”

Cegarra added: “Ian Parry’s brother told me ‘No matter what you do or who you are in the future, from now on you will always be part of the Parry family’ and since then I always try to honour those beautiful words and the Ian Parry legacy.”

The Scholarship’s founder and driving force, Aidan Sullivan, added: “It has been remarkable to look back over 25 years and see what the Ian Parry Scholarship has achieved, how it has managed to help so many photographers in the early stages of their careers and has become one of the most important, widely respected and renowned award for young photojournalists.”

“We have a long list of alumni who are now amongst the most influential photographers of their generation: Marcus Bleasdale, Jonas Bendiksen, Simon Roberts, Sebastien Liste and just last year Alejandro Cegarra was added to that list.”

“Alejandro visited Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan, France, last year and sat alongside our Patron Don McCullin at a press conference to mark the 25th anniversary of Ian’s death. Little did he know then that within just 12 months he would join Reportage by Getty Images and be on his way back to Perpignan with his own exhibition.”

“That is how important this award is and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved – and I know that Ian would too.”

How to enter

Entrants must submit examples of their work from their portfolio and a brief synopsis of a project they would undertake if they won. The prize consists of £3,500 towards their chosen assignment and £500 to those awarded Highly Commended and Commended.

The benefits of winning this prestigious prize are considerable. World Press Photo automatically accepts the winner onto its final list of nominees for the Joop Swart Masterclass, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This is a significant prize for any photographer and along with the support of Getty Images, Canon Europe and The Sunday Times Magazine – which publishes all the finalist’s work – the scholarship provides an excellent launch into a professional career in photography.

For more information and how to apply go to the Ian Parry Scholarship website.

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